Shepparton Golf’s powerful run continued during the week at its pennant playoff.
Photo by
Jesse Robertson-Torres
It’s a good time for the Goulburn Valley’s top bowlers to keep on rolling.
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Having wrapped up the Goulburn Valley Playing Area club seasons last week with midweek and weekend pennant premiers crowned, it wasn’t long before those top teams had to back up for a new challenge.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the division one and two champions in both timeslots met their Murray Playing Area counterparts in the Goulburn Murray Bowls Region pennant playoffs.
It was a fervent turnout despite the heat with a wealth of support for all four clubs.
Photo by
Jesse Robertson-Torres
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Shepparton Golf’s Brent Reiner had his hands full.
Photo by
Jesse Robertson-Torres
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Shepparton Golf’s John Gribble and Brad Orr have a quick catch-up on strategy.
Photo by
Jesse Robertson-Torres
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Shepparton Golf’s John Gribble remained calm and composed in a winning rink.
Photo by
Jesse Robertson-Torres
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Wunghnu’s Jacob Cartwright was full of energy, bounding down the greens.
Photo by
Jesse Robertson-Torres
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You had to keep your head on a swivel with six rinks in action between the two games.
Photo by
Jesse Robertson-Torres
A picturesque stage was set under twilight conditions at Shepparton Golf Bowls Club, with the recently-crowned Allan Matheson Shield winner taking on its Murray counterpart Wunghnu on home greens, while Seymour VRI and Cobram also battled on the upper greens in the division two final.
There was an adjustment involved, with sides downsizing from four rinks to three and forcing some unlucky personnel changes in the process — though it created a star-studded spectacle, with even Golf coach Kris Ferguson playing third to Anthony Flapper in his rink.
It was a relatively even-keeled opening to proceedings, with prodigal son Jacob Cartwright making a solid start in his rink for the visitor opposite Brent Reiner.
Brad Orr’s rink putting up a four-spot in its ninth end against Andrew Henderson put up a significant gap and advanced Golf’s cause considerably as the home side continued to keep its nose just in front.
Perhaps the true game-breaker came in that rink, which proved decisive on the night anyway, when the quartet of Orr, John and Wayne Gribble plus John Stokes notched scores in six straight ends to blow out a 26-7 margin three quarters of the way home.
Cartwright, to his credit, battled tremendously to keep the black and white outfit close to parity.
In the closing stages as night fell, though, Golf remained steady under lights and closed it out with an end to spare, advancing to state pennants in a gritty 68-59 win.
“It was good bowls. One rink struggled, but that’s bowls and we played as a team,” Ferguson said post-match.
“We got the result, which is good, so it’s off to state for us now.
“It’s unfortunate that some have to drop out of the team, but when you get to pennant level, that’s what it is.
“All the guys will come with us, so we’ll still have a full team there. Col Power, Wayne Dagger and John Hallam were some guys who didn’t play, so it’s definitely a good problem to have.
“We’ll be trying our hardest to do the same as Tally did (last season). We won it in 2019, so there’s no reason we can’t go again.”
Seymour VRI will join them at Moama Bowling Club for those same state events on the weekend of April 26-27 after closing out its win over Cobram a few minutes after the Golfers finished handling business.
The tightly-contested 53-50 result further caps a brilliant run from the southern side, already anticipating Matheson Shield experience next season.
That pair of GVPA-friendly outcomes completed a remarkable four-for-four run across the week, with Edna Harling Shield premier Tallygaroopna and midweek division two winner Shepparton Park each posting huge wins the day before at Tallygaroopna Bowls Club, having its first playoff action in some time.
